


Five times Tommy Gregson tried to make sense of who was dating who, and one time he figured it out

by Lunas



Category: Elementary (TV)
Genre: Other, gregson is a great detective yet can't figure it out smh, it's obvs, they're all dating - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-31 09:32:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8573179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunas/pseuds/Lunas
Summary: Does what it says on the box.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Because procrastinating writing one fic by writing another amirite.

1.  
  
Tommy Gregson had always considered himself to be a perceptive man. He wasn't one to downplay his strengths, false modesty being unbecoming and all. While he maybe wasn't the strongest, and clearly not the most handsome (although there his mother would disagree), he had always felt it was safe to say he knew details, knew people, knew how to put two and two together and figure out what it really meant.  
  
Then _they_ came along. At first he'd been unsure. They certainly acted like they were together, but then, Sherlock had always been a tricky one.  
  
Holmes and Watson. Never saw one without the other, these days. Originally, he was sure they were just professional partners, and although he couldn't quite make out in what capacity, Joan had eventually confided in him the true nature of their arrangement.  
  
But then. Then she'd stayed. Long after he knew her sober companion days were over.  
  
The rumor mill at the precinct was a powerful force, one that even he as the captain couldn't ignore. He tried to stay clear of it most of the time; it wasn't his business who had hooked up with who, nor did he particularly care. Yet he couldn't deny his intrigue. Holmes and Watson were a peculiar couple, constantly blindsiding him.  
  
He knew they weren't the most popular pair around here, so he was never surprised to hear gossip flying around about them.  
  
He was surprised, however, to walk into the break room and find Bell in a heated debate with Jonas, who seemed to regret whatever he had previously said.  
  
Tommy made out the last of Bell's words '... jealous of her detective work, since you haven't done anything worthwhile in years.” before coughing loudly. Both his detectives turned swiftly, and ceased whatever they were talking about. Jonas looked a bit green, and he walked out of the break room after nodding at Tommy, while Bell just furiously stirred at his coffee.  
  
It wasn't like Bell to show such contempt to a fellow officer, neither was it like him to be this angry, so while usually Tommy would have said nothing of it, this time he felt like he had to speak out, 'care to explain why you laid into the detective like that?”  
  
Bell made a face, took a deep breath, and explained, 'he was implying that Watson was a _gold digger_ , sir.”  
  
Tommy felt his eyebrows shoot up, for a second lost for words. Bell watched him, an almost challenging glint in his eyes, but Tommy merely thought back to what he had overheard _'you haven't done anything worthwhile in years”_ and despite himself, felt a sort of vindictive pleasure.  
  
'Well, then I'm glad you came to a mutual understanding,” he said mildly, catching a smile from Bell before turning to pour himself a coffee.  
  
Whatever Holmes and Watson were to each other, anyone with a pair of eyes could see they cared about each other. And anyone who thought otherwise would have to keep their opinions to themselves.  
  
2.  
  
Their investigation into the murder of three young men ends when they find a trail of documents leading to an upscale villa in the upper east side. The arrest is standard procedure, but then comes doubt. Their perp is clearly not working alone.  
  
Tommy arrives at the scene twenty minutes after they've made the bust, steps through police officers collecting evidence and turning the place around, searching for any detail that might help.  
  
The reports he’d gotten over the phone described the kilos of heroin they'd found in the house, and while he's here in an official capacity, he also has another objective in mind.  
  
He knows Holmes is here, and that just won't do. He'll send him off to the precinct to make sense of the documents they'd collected from the scene, and spare him the hassle of having to deal with the presence of such a heavy quantity of drugs. Not just for Sherlock's sake but for the benefit of the case.  
  
He manoeuvres through the gaggle of officers who mill about, is directed to the back of the house when he inquires of Holmes’ whereabouts.  
  
About to step through the glass doors to the backyard, something makes him stop in his tracks.  
  
The spacious back garden is empty but of two people, who, when he steps sideways, he makes out to be Bell and Holmes. They stand near a marble fountain- one of those meant for birds to swim in.  
  
He doesn’t quite realise he’s paused, rather he subconsciously shifts so as not to be seen by either party.  
  
Standing behind a large potted palm tree and an ugly statue of an angel, he finds himself stuck in place, watching. The two detectives stand close to each other, engaged in what looks to be a private audience.  
  
He watches as Sherlock lowers his head, his voice pained when he says, 'I am unable to stay objective, it is… it is difficult for me to be in the presence of… such a powerful trigger.”  
  
And immediately Marcus calmly say, 'that's nothing to be ashamed of, alright?”  
  
Sherlock looks up, and from where Tommy is standing he can tell there is doubt, shame, all so obvious in Sherlock's unguarded face.  
  
But then Marcus reaches out, his hand coming gently to rest on top of Sherlock's, and both men's faces seem to soften. Marcus’ touch is gentle, just a light press on Sherlock's. And yet it's possibly the most intimate thing in the world. Neither pull away, and Marcus’ lips move to say something Tommy barely makes out- and before he knows it he is turning and making his way from the site, walking back into the house.  
  
He feels oddly guilty; like he's trespassed into a private world. Yet at the same time, something in him warms at the thought of two people he greatly cares about caring so clearly for each other. They are safe in each other's hands, he thinks, and turns back to his job.  
  
Although he does stop to wonder how long it's been going on. He seems to have lost his touch, unaware that two people so close to him were together. Maybe it was simply because of how unexpected it was. Bell and Holmes. Who would have thought?  
  
A few minutes later Sherlock passes through, announcing he is returning to the station, where he will clearly be of greater help, and Tommy finds himself smiling at the look of pride on Marcus face.  
  
3.  
  
Tommy, Marcus and Joan are all collectively poring over a particularly nonsensical casefile when the latter's phone rings, and she turns from both with a 'Hey, babe,” into the phone. Marcus doesn't look up, but the phrase makes Tommy curious, especially so when he glances at her and sees it's accompanied by a mischievous smirk.  
  
Whoever it is at the other end replies, and Joan's smirk gets wider.  
  
'I told you, I’ll stop calling you that when you return them all to me. Babe.”  
  
Her voice is lowered, and she's walked far away enough from them that Tommy can barely hear, but his curiosity is piqued, and he's unable to keep himself from straining to listen in. For a second, he feels terrible; since when is he such a snoop? He can just picture his mother and her friends gossipping in the kitchen, drinking their tea, and feels like right now, he would be a perfect candidate to join them.  
  
But then Joan hisses, 'because they're my bras Sherlock, why else would I need them?” into the phone, and all thoughts of ceasing his snooping fly out the window.  
  
'How's this then,” and her next words are so quiet he can hardly make them out, 'each one you give back to me, I'll make sure to wear for you.”  
  
Tommy decides to make as much noise as he can after that, trying his best not to overhear anything else.  
  
Marcus looks up when Joan approaches them a few minutes later again, and smiles at her as if he hasn't seen her in days.  
  
Joan's responding smile is just as brilliant.  
  
'Was that Sherlock?” Marcus asks, and Joan nods, serious once again, explaining what Sherlock had found about the case and spitballing ideas she's come up with. Marcus and Joan start debating the merits of each idea, animatedly searching through files and writing things down, all the while Tommy watches them distractedly.  
  
This in itself is a mystery. After being witness to Marcus offering Sherlock comfort sometime ago in that villa's garden, he'd thought them to be together. It had seemed so obvious, such a straightforward conclusion to come to. But Joan's phone conversation was derailing the idea.  
  
He thought he knew his detectives better, thought he understood how they worked along one another. Instead, they kept throwing him curveballs. Apparently, Marcus and Sherlock were not together at all. That and the two private detectives had, at some point, started dating. Or was it that they weren't together either, and this was just the way they joked?  
  
He'd get to the bottom of it.  
  
4.  
  
Even though Tommy had resolved to figure his co-worker’s relationships out, he doesn't think much about it for a while.  
  
Other, arguably more important things in his life come up, like his own relationship, his work… etc. Mostly his work, really.  
  
It's work he's doing when the mystery rears it's head back in. Unfortunately, he's decided to do it in the room adjacent the water cooler. And what a cliche, to find gossip at the water cooler.  
  
The officers now gossipping are clearly unaware of his presence in the room beside them, as they talk in loud voices,  
  
'....and if what she saw wasn’t bad enough, she got a called away,” says a female voice that Tommy recognises as officer Lively, and there's a noise of assent, a heavy sigh, from someone else.  
  
A third person, sounding confused, questions, 'what wasn’t bad enough?”  
  
Once again Tommy finds himself caught overhearing gossip that he is uninterested in, but simultaneously slightly curious about.  
  
He lowers his pen as a voice, this one he thinks belongs to Healy, replies, 'oh you didn't hear? Poor thing, you know she was basically in love with-”  
  
'The Watson woman, yeah, I know that, who doesn't?” answers the other.  
  
Ah, so they’re talking about officer Simone. Even Tommy has to admit that it's quite obvious Jenna Simone, a young woman who had recently risen to detective, has a crush on Joan. Although he doubts Joan knows, it's hardly a well kept secret. Simone is an outgoing, elegant woman in all respects, yet whenever the consulting detective is near, she becomes a stuttering mess.  
  
'Well, she walked in on detective Bell and Watson making out in the stockroom,” says Lively sadly. Tommy lets his pen drop and the detectives on the other side of the wall go quiet for moments before resuming speaking.  
  
'Said Watson just looked embarrassed and Bell apologetic. Well, he obviously knows about Jenna’s crush…”  
  
Tommy barely listens as they keep chattering, instead, his mind is going into overdrive trying to make sense of the new information. So. Watson and Bell had been kissing.  
  
Is this a fact? He doubts detective Simone would have lied to her co-workers about what she had seen, and simultaneously doubts the officers by the water cooler would be spreading lies, so he'll have to accept they were indeed kissing. Yet he'd previously accepted Joan and Sherlock were together, and the evidence also pointed to Marcus and Sherlock.  
  
Outside the room, Healy is saying something about taking Simone out for drinks. Tommy stares at the wall and wonders if this mystery he is trying to solve will ever stop developing.  
  
He wonders about outright asking one of his employees what was going on, but dismisses the idea immediately. The thought of having to admit to either three of them that he's been pondering so deeply about their relationships, or even that he, as the captain of a precinct, can't even solve such a puzzle, makes him feel foolish. _'Hey, Marcus, are you dating Sherlock or Joan, or are they dating each other? Or are you all just close enough with each other that you make out as friends?”_  
  
Maybe he should just give up figuring it out altogether, and instead focus on the pile of work that constantly assaults him.  
  
If only he wasn't such a curious man.  
  
5.  
  
Weeks later and Tommy is sauntering up the stairs to the brownstone. It's a Sunday; his day off. He could be lounging at home with a beer, watching FRIENDS reruns or helping Paige, who is planning a wedding for her best friend as a maid of honour, and loves getting his feedback. Instead he decided to go for a stroll in the sun, and take the opportunity to pass Joan some files she had requested from the precinct some days ago.  
  
It’s been days since sunshine has warmed NYC’s streets, and he feels spirited by his walk, thinking about taking Paige out to dinner in evening. It’s with that pleasing thought in mind that he rings the bell for the Brownstone, and when the door opens his mind is so preoccupied that it takes him a few seconds to take in what’s in front of him.  
  
He can only blink in confusion when he does.  
  
Bell, his face a turning deep shade of red, wearing nothing but boxers and a worn out t-shirt, stares at him, one hand on the door handle.  
  
A few long moments go by with both of them doing nothing but staring, and then Marcus breaks the silence with a cough and a stuttered, ‘Morning, captain.’  
  
‘Good Morning. Um.’ He can’t think of what to say. His mind rapidly assesses if the situation would be made more awkward by commenting on it or less, and it seems unable to come to a decision.  
  
Marcus seems to be wondering the same thing, and he slowly manages to say, ‘uh, would you... like to come in?’ He steps back a little and holds the door open widely.  
  
‘No, no. I just. I needed to pass something over to Joan. Is she. Uh, is she here?’ He realises after a second’s pause what that question implies. The detective’s face deepens a few shades of red.  
  
Seemingly steeling himself, he answers, ‘she’s taking a shower. You can wait inside if you-’  
  
Fortunately, they’re interrupted by the loud sound of footsteps descending the stairs. Sherlock’s heavily accented voice calls, ‘Sunday is a day of rest and pleasure, not a day for entertaining guests! If it is truly important, let them leave a message, so we may return to...’ Sherlock trails off as he comes into view, spotting Tommy.  
  
‘Oh. Good Morning, Captain.’  
  
If he’d thought the situation was embarrassing before, Tommy could now say he had never been in such an awkward spot. Sherlock, wearing nothing but sweatpants and an uninterested look on his face, does not seem to think so, but Marcus looks ready to fake his own death and move to South America.  
  
Sherlock might as well have shouted for him to ‘come back to bed, baby,’ and everyone in the room seems to silently acknowledge that fact.  
  
‘My apologies for doubting the importance of your visit,’ Sherlock says, as if there is nothing to else remark on, ‘is everything alright?’  
  
Tommy shakes himself, coughs, and manages to say, ‘I needed to leave something Joan was looking for the other day.’  
  
‘She’s otherwise engaged at the moment, but we’d gladly pass it on for her,’ Sherlock replies curtly.  
  
‘Alright... I’m sorry for, uh, disturbing you,’ he kicks himself in mentally as Marcus puts his face in his palm, and especially so when he catches Sherlock’s covert smirk.  
  
‘Not at all, Captain,’ he says happily, ‘Watson had already abandoned us for her shower, and we were just finishing up, in any case.’  
  
Marcus coughs loudly and almost snatches the files out of Tommy’s hands, ‘alright, we’ll make sure she gets these! Thanks for dropping by, see you on Monday!’ He shouts manically, while Sherlock looks on serenely.  
  
Tommy heaves a sigh of relief when the door is closed behind him.  
  
+1  
  
Monday morning comes, and Tommy is not ready for it. He spent the previous night regaling the whole story to a delighted Paige, who apparently thought the site of a flustered and embarrassed Thomas Gregson was the best thing she’d ever seen.  
  
But although after a few glasses of wine, he’d found himself cheerfully describing detective Bell’s deep shade of blush, now he’s back at being embarrassed himself.  
  
He regrets having not asked about three favourite employees’ romantic situation before. It would not have been awkward if they had just told him, but instead he had waited to catch them in such a mortifying situation as the previous day’s, and they would surely want to clear things up now.  
  
He’s also strangely annoyed by finding out the three of them are together, but he can’t put his finger on why.  
  
Not looking forward to having to be the recipient of three people explaining such a complex three-way friends with benefit situation to their boss, he arrives at work earlier than usual and holes himself up in his office, burying himself in work to distract himself.  
  
Before half the precinct has made the switch from night-shift to day-shift, however, there is a knock on his door, and he looks up to the dreaded threesome making their way into the office.  
  
They settle around his desk when he gestures them in, and he puts his pen down to face them.  
  
Feeling too much like a principal having to deal with unruly students, he leans back.  
  
‘Let’s get straight to it,’ starts Joan, without so much as a good morning, ‘We- Me, Marcus and Sherlock, are in a relationship.’  
  
‘It’s not against the rules!’ Sherlock pipes up quickly, ‘technically, Watson and I are not your employees, so there is nothing in the code of conduct stopping us from being-’  
  
Joan settles a hand on his shoulder gently, and Sherlock’s jaw snaps shut.  
  
‘We probably should’ve told you,’ she continues softly, ‘but we weren’t sure how to bring it up.’  
  
‘It’s not going to affect our work at all,’ Marcus offers, ‘if we suspect it will, we’ll let you know.’  
  
They all watch him for a few tense seconds. Sherlock’s chin raised highly, none of the calm exterior that was present the day before, Marcus, fidgeting with his hands and not meeting Tommy’s eyes, and Joan staring him down, a kind of warning in her eyes. As if daring him to reject them.  
  
For a moment, he’s taken aback with fondness for all of them.  
  
Tommy sighs, ‘of course I have nothing against it, in fact, I’m _glad_ of it.’  
  
Simultaneously, three people seem to deflate and with that, the tension in the room lessens significantly. Marcus runs a hand through his hair and Joan smiles warmly.  
  
‘I doubt that it’ll affect your work in any negative way. And it’s good that you three have each other,’ he says kindly, ‘but you should’ve told me.’  
  
‘We weren’t sure how to go about it,’ Sherlock states, ‘I myself was slightly worried that it would cause an issue, as it is admittedly an unusual arrangement.’  
  
‘It’s not that, Sherlock. I’m not asking that you tell me as your boss, I’m asking that you tell me as a friend.’ And there, he puts the finger on what annoyed him about the situation. He regrets that the three of them hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him the nature of their “arrangement”.  
  
‘Yeah,’ Joan says, ‘yeah, we really should have told you. We’ve been together for months now and... well, I’m glad you finally know.’  
  
Marcus nods, his voice no longer so strained when he says, ‘It’s not that we didn’t trust you, sir, it was just. A difficult situation.’  
  
Sherlock, apparently flummoxed that they’re being so personal now, manages to say ‘I, too... apologise. It was just. Hm. Difficult to think of expressing to anyone that I am in love with my two colleagues, least of all our employer.’  
  
Marcus and Joan’s heads whip around so fast that he’s surprised their necks don’t crack. Sherlock takes a step back, and Tommy finds himself suddenly letting out a short, surprised chuckle.  
  
‘Well, I’m glad you told me, and I really am happy for the three of you, but I’m guessing you should all go get some privacy and talk about what Sherlock just said.’ By the constipated look on Sherlock’s face and the astounded silence of the others, he imagines that was probably the first time the L word was spoken out loud in this relationship.  
  
‘And if you’re going to go to the trouble of hiding something like this, please put a little more effort!’ He calls as they flock out, Sherlock first in line to escape, ‘I figured it out months ago.’  
  
Tommy realises that at the end of the day, this was the simplest solution to the mystery. That it wasn’t just a couple or a friends with benefit situation, but three people who clearly cared for each other and were now somewhere having a conversation about being in Love.

**Author's Note:**

> Not 2 sure about this one so if you have any constructive criticisms i'd actually be thankful (just don't be mean pls)  
> I'm @joanws on tumblr


End file.
